Some people have interpreted this as saying that it is possible to never die. Therefore, there are people today who are believing that they will live physically until the second coming of Jesus, even if that is thousands of years away. Although it is understandable how someone could interpret this verse in that manner, it is very doubtful that this is what Jesus truly meant.

First, a doctrine as profound as this would certainly be well documented in other scriptures. Other scriptures may sometimes be quoted as supporting this claim but they would not lead a person to this conclusion by themselves.

There would already have to be a prejudice in favor of this stand within a person to lead him to interpret these scriptures in this light. That is not a sound method of Bible interpretation. Also, there is not a single scriptural example of anyone who obtained this. That should make anyone suspect of this teaching. Enoch or Elijah might be cited as examples, but they were translated so that they didn’t die. They are not still in their physical bodies on this earth.